Opinion
Updated ,first published
Few events in business and politics get the high-calibre turnout that the Business Council of Australia’s annual dinner has come to deliver.
And that’s before factoring in the will-he-won’t-he speculation over whether Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn would be among the major corporates to show face for the get-together at the Sofitel hotel in Sydney’s CBD on Tuesday evening. (To our surprise, Comyn was there.)
The guest list had no shortage of talent. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was billed as the headline guest, with a gaggle of senior Labor figures in tow.
Also from the government, Trade Minister Don Farrell showed up to mingle with execs ahead of dinner, as did Assistant Science, Technology and Digital Economy Minister Andrew Charlton, and Assistant Productivity Minister Andrew Leigh, who, if our eyes didn’t deceive us, arrived to the ballroom with his backpack slung over his shoulder.
But if reporting from our colleagues on Monday was any indicator, Albanese was no doubt bracing for a tough crowd. The star-studded audience was led by BCA chief executive Bran Black, who was preparing to send the government a warning shot on productivity, according to speech notes reported by this masthead.
Our guess is that Black will have no shortage of backers for his message. The top executives of Australia’s biggest companies were expected to turn out in force for the annual get-together, including Telstra chief executive Vicki Brady, Coles chief Leah Weckert and representatives from the big four banks.
Apart from Comyn, the bankers included NAB chairman Philip Chronican, who was on the list but whom we didn’t get eyes on, as well as Westpac chief Anthony Miller and ANZ’s still-relatively-new CEO Nuno Matos. Also expected were Citi chief executive Mark Woodruff and Macquarie boss Stuart Green.
The Minns government was represented, with NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey firmly ensconced.
Public servants were also well represented. ASIC chair Sarah Court and ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb were each set to turn out for the function, as was Steven Kennedy, secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and Treasury secretary Jenny Wilkinson.
Jan Adams, secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, was also expected to go along, as was Department of Climate Change and Energy secretary Mike Kaiser.
As with all of these types of functions, there is always a reliable turnout from the hangers-on. So it was little surprise to see former federal treasurer turned Trump whisperer Joe Hockey back on the list this year, along with former defence minister Christopher Pyne. The pair were among the eager and enthusiastic who turned up unfashionably early. (Those relationships aren’t going to cultivate themselves.)
Chris Bowen flirts with Murdoch’s son-in-law
Earlier this month, Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen slipped into a flannelette overshirt and stared down what we’d assume was an iPhone camera to talk up how the government is making it easier for farmers to go solar.
As part of the roadshow, Bowen met with board members of Growing Australia’s Nature Economy, otherwise known as “GANE”. So far, so unremarkable. But it was the name of another high-profile Australian who appeared on the minister’s register of interests, days later, that piqued our interest: Alasdair MacLeod.
The man would need no introduction to our good friends over at Holt Street. That’s because this is the same Alasdair MacLeod, Bowen’s office confirmed, who is married to Prudence MacLeod, the eldest daughter of none other than Rupert Murdoch.
MacLeod, according to Bowen’s disclosure, hosted the minister as a guest at his home for a night following a tour of carbon farming initiatives. Bowen, we’re told, dropped in on MacLeod’s farm in Yass for a two-day seminar that brought together experts in wildlife, conservation, agricultural science and climate to talk about how farmers can get more income out of soil carbon capture. (How fun!)
Prue and Alasdair MacLeod are big nature, agriculture and climate action enthusiasts. In 2019, the pair founded the Macdoch Foundation, which, at least according to its website, has invested extended philanthropic grants worth $44.5 million to 65 organisations.
But something tells us the couple’s love of nature isn’t the only reason Bowen might be feeling pleased with himself.
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John Buckley is a CBD columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.From our partners
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